Around the world, many people are already looking for ways to protect coral reefs.  For example, Coral Guardian , a non-profit organization based in France, works to coordinate and support cultivation of corals.  They work with local people who live near coral reefs, including fishermen, to help plant cultivated corals.  They seek funding from supportive people around the world to help pay wages for those doing the work on the reefs.  Another group, People for Ocean (P4O, Australia), works in two primary ways to support coral reefs.  First - they grow corals.  Second- they develop and market non-toxic sunscreen products, that do not contain ingredients that are harmful to corals.

No matter where we live we can join groups working for energy efficiency or groups working to develop clean energy to help stop the harmful effects of excessive amounts of carbon dioxide in the air.  We can also work with groups that work to reduce the use of plastics that can get into the ocean and drift around the world.  You can start, or take a next step, by finding and learning about a group in your city or town. Introduce yourself and express your interest.

• We can all take steps to reduce the need for fossil fuels.  That can help corals because the excessive emission of carbon dioxide is a primary driver of coral stress.  Things we do to reduce the need for energy or to replace fossil energy with clean, renewable energy are kind for corals.  Many organizations, including businesses, grassroots groups and governments are working to facilitate a transition away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy sources.  For example, a group of French businesses developed a pledge to do their part to limit emissions.  The global “Paris Agreement” to prevent climate change has been adopted by almost every country in the world.  Groups are also taking legal action to push their own governments to protect the future climate for generations that have not caused the problem.  For example, a group of 21 children is suing the US government to court to help create changes to protect the climate.

• We can all take steps to use energy more efficiently and to encourage other people to join us. 

  • If you don't live near a reef, you can find a group working for energy efficiency, such as ClimateXChange or Women Working for Oceans (W2O) in the United States, or support new energy systems in your local city or town.  

  • Wherever we work, we can encourage our building managers to install the most energy efficient lighting, heating, and cooling systems. 

  • We can ask our elected leaders to make policies that require new buildings and appliances to be more energy efficient.  We can ask real estate agents to share information about energy use of buildings they are renting or selling, so buyers can choose the most energy efficient options.

  • We can replace old fossil fuel energy systems that depended coal, oil and gas, with new, clean energy systems that can use solar or wind or tidal power. 

  • If you live near a reef area, you can help to protect reefs from pollution that runs off the land by working with your neighbors.  You can encourage very gentle use of the reef such as avoiding stepping on corals, and keeping boat anchors and fishing nets away from reefs.  Work with groups to protect reefs from fishing by supporting protected areas where no fishing and dumping is allowed, and no animals can be removed from the reef.

Megan Donahue, researcher at HIMB. "Our data indicate that both local management efforts such as reducing nutrient run-off and seepage into groundwater, and global actions, such as reducing global carbon dioxide emissions, are required to protect reefs from rapidly declining."

• Many individuals & organizations from around the world are already working hard to protect coral reefs.

  • The government in Belize has taken steps to protect its reefs from damaging activities.  They have stopped all oil exploration in the entire maritime zone of Belize and they have taken steps to protect mangrove forests along their coastline.  Local governments, state, or national governments can take similar steps and citizens can encourage such protection.

  • Women Working for Oceans (W2O), based in Massachusetts, in the U.S.A., is helping local people to get involved to safeguard marine protected areas and also to understand ways to protect endangered right whales and to prevent plastics getting into the ocean.

  • Many organizations apply for grants each year to support coral reef health through research and conservation efforts.  The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration makes some of those grants.

  • Force Blue is a group that trains elite combat veterans who have participated in SCUBA diving missions, to participate in coral reef restoration. (or http://www.noaa.gov/stories/operation-coral-rescue-is-under-way)

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• Around the world, people are working to reduce and eliminate plastic waste.

  • The Earth Policy Institute is tracking efforts to ban plastic bags, worldwide, and there are many.  In the United States, a growing number of plastic bag bans are taking effect.  In the state of Massachusetts, more than 80 communities have voted to adopt plastic bag bans.  These bans take many forms, all intended to help reduce the amount of dangerous plastic making its way to the ocean.

  • There is evidence that policies can help reduce plastic waste in the ocean.  A study of data about the number of plastic items found in trawls near parts of Europe showed mostly stable amounts, but the number of plastic bags in trawls declined in years following a ban on their use.  Plastic bags aren’t the only problem.  While plastics never really break down in natural environments, they can be broken into many tiny pieces, called microplastics.  Microplastics are dangerous, particularly for filter feeding species, including corals.  Tiny plastic microbeads are used in cosmetic products but  some countries including the UK and the US are taking steps to eliminate these plastics in products for sale.

  • Many countries and states all around the world have also introduced bans on single-use plastics, such as plastic straws and utensils, ingested by marine wildlife and found in the stomachs of seabirds, sea turtles, and whales.

• People working to eliminate siltation and nutrient pollution can help reduce stresses on reefs and make them more resilient.  For example, at Culebra, in Puerto Rico - Local people are working to reduce nutrient and silt runoff into reef areas by re-planting bare soil and using gravel instead of pavement for parking lots.  This slows the flow of rainwater carrying silt and nutrients from the land to the reef.

• Scientific research can help guide understanding and action.  In recent years, aquariums have helped lead the way in growing corals in tanks.  Learning to breed corals in aquariums may help us to accelerate development of resistance to disease or heat tolerance or tolerance of changing ocean chemistry.

  • In 2013, the Horniman Aquarium in England pioneered the work to grow corals  in an aquarium setting.   More recently, researchers at the California Academy of Sciences have been successful in spawning corals (releasing eggs) in aquariums.

  • Recently, a team reported that removing invasive rats from islands near coral reefs could help reefs and reef species to be healthier and grow faster.  Rats eat seabird eggs, so where there are rats, there are fewer seabirds.  Seabirds travel long distances to find food and then return to their island areas where they excrete waste that is rich in nitrogen.  That nitrogen enriches local soils which slowly release it into the water where it provides benefits for corals and other species.  This research points to a new way people can work to support coral reef health. 

• In 2018, several places around the world, like Hawaii, have decided to ban sunscreens that can harm coral reefs. France could be inspired by Hawaii and soon ban some sunscreens as well

Interview